‘Lockdown Karen’ who was caught on camera screaming homophobic slurs is arrested for storming the Capitol
Trump supporter Gina Michelle Bisignano, who owns a beauty salon in Beverly Hills, has been arrested by the FBI (Department of Justice)
A woman who was caught on camera screaming homophobic slurs at a COVID conspiracy rally has been arrested in connection with the storming of the Capitol.
Trump supporter Gina Michelle Bisignano, who owns a beauty salon in Beverly Hills, first made the news in November when a clip surfaced of her screaming homophobic epithets while taking part in a rally against lockdown restrictions.
Bisignano was dubbed ‘Lockdown Karen’ after screaming at a person filming the protest: “You’re a faggot. I said it. I don’t give a s**t. You’re disgusting… you’re a fag. What are you, a guy or a girl?”
Two months on from the incident, the avid Trump supporter is facing federal charges for allegedly taking part in the storming of the US Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January.
Gina Bisignano went from spewing homophobic vitriol to storming the Capitol
Bisignano was identified as a suspect, court documents explain, thanks to footage from the Capitol in which she details her place of work, her first and last name, her place of residence, and her Instagram account.
The criminal complaint notes a video from the Capitol which shows a woman believed to be Bisignano screaming into a megaphone from a ledge: “We need weapons! We need strong, angry patriots to help our boys, they don’t want to leave. We need protection!”
NEW: video shows Beverly Hills salon owner Gina Bisignano was at the head of the mob that broke into the West side of the Capitol, inciting people to violence over a megaphone as police were attacked and urging others to follow her into the building. pic.twitter.com/3x6PUHrG8P
— T (@waterspider__) January 13, 2021
As the protesters seek to smash through a police line, the woman takes the time to shout-out “Gina’s Beverly Hills”.
Other videos appear to show the woman among the crowd of rioters, spewing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about “globalists” as the mob continues “striking or attempting to strike the officers, and physically pushing the police line in an attempt to gain entry to the Capitol”.
Trump supporter vented about negative reviews as protesters stormed the Capitol
In a video filmed in the aftermath of the initial surge, the woman appears to vent about her business, Gina’s Eyelashes and Skincare, being barraged with negative reviews.
She said: “My name is Gina Bisignano, I’m from Beverly Hills… they doxxed the s**t out of me, they tried to ruin my business, they tried to shut me down.”
pic.twitter.com/wkzAYOfnmJ— cybertooth (@cybrt00th) January 10, 2021
With her make-up streaked after apparently being sprayed with tear gas, she added: “I pressed in over there and they sprayed me in the face!
“I love my country and I love my president, and I’m a single mother and I love my Lord, and they can’t take away our constitution. He’s our king and Trump is our president.”
Bisignano is charged with civil disorder, destruction of government property, aiding and abetting, obstruction of an official proceeding, and violent entry or disorderly conduct in a restricted building.
She made her first federal court appearance on Tuesday (19 January), and was freed on a $170,000 bond ahead of a court date in February.
While Bisignano’s business was initially flooded with negative reviews in the immediate aftermath of her homophobic diatribe, most appear to have been deleted in the weeks since.
An anti-lockdown protester wearing a ‘Trump 2020’ shirt was filmed spewing homophobic slurs at a rally in Los Angeles.
Instead, her Yelp page appears to have been targeted with inauthentic five-star reviews from Trump supporters, giving her a five-star rating on the platform after every comment condemning her homophobia was removed.
